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The Next Stage
For All Nails #57A: The Next Stage by Johnny Pez ---- :Belgrade, Kingdom of Croatia, Outer German Empire :24 June 1974 "The time has come," said Gavril Ducevic, "to move on to the next stage of the struggle to free the Serb people." Ducevic's companion, whom he knew only as "Boris," said, "The current stage seems to be yielding sufficiently positive results. How many attacks have you carried out against the Croats?" "Seventeen," Ducevic said. "Though only twelve were successful." "Still, seventeen attacks is a remarkable achievement," Boris pointed out. "It's sixteen more than most revolutionaries manage. You've got the Croatian authorities going mad trying to track you down, and they haven't even come close. What's more, you're being emulated by your fellow Serbs. Three assassination attempts and six bombings in the last month, and only two of the bombings were your own doing. Why change course now?" "Because when all is said and done, the Croats are only puppets," said Ducevic. "When you're trying to kill a snake, you don't aim at the tail, you aim at the head. The head of the Croatian snake isn't in Croatia -- it's in Berlin. It's time to start taking aim at the head." Boris frowned. "That might not be the wisest move. As long as you confine yourself to Croatia, you'll only have the Croatians to worry about. The Germans would be much more formidable opponents. Hans Steiner didn't get the reputation he has by being easygoing. He got it by being very good at his job." Ducevic's face did not show the anger that was beginning to grow within him. "Why the sudden note of caution, Boris? You've always encouraged my actions before." Although Boris spoke fluent Serbian, Ducevic had always fancied he could detect a hint of a Swedish accent in the man's pronunciation. FN1 It was no secret that the Scandies had grown circumspect in their dealings with the Germans since the war scare last year. "You've always acted sensibly before," Boris answered. "If you stop acting sensibly, then naturally I will stop encouraging you." "There we disagree, Boris. I believe I'm being quite sensible. The Germans are our enemies, and you can only win a war by beating your enemies." "You will not allow me to dissuade you, then?" said Boris. "My course is clear," said Ducevic. "I intend to pursue it." "Then you will do so alone," said Boris. "I cannot allow my organization to become involved in such a reckless adventure. I'm afraid our association is at an end." "Very well," said Ducevic. The Serb brought a pistol from his coat pocket and emptied it into the other man's chest. As he always did, Ducevic felt a momentary amusement at the astonished look on his target's face. Returning the pistol (ironically, one of the Krag-Colts that Boris had provided him) to his pocket, Ducevic stepped around the growing pool of blood, picked up the suitcase he had prepared before the meeting, and walked out of the room. There was a train leaving Belgrade for Berlin in ninety minutes, and he intended to be on it. ---- Forward to FAN #57B (Gavril Ducevic): A Serb Bullet. Forward to 25 June 1974: How Many Germans Does It Take . . .. Return to For All Nails. Category:Gavril Ducevic